


Let's Blow This Popstand

by lanalucy



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Community: bsg_epics, F/M, Gen, Hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-09 21:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>bsg_epics' Inspiration Day: What If?<br/>Prompt: What if Kara and Karl were a couple when the attacks happened?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Blow This Popstand

No one could tell her where Raptor 312 was, and neither Boomer nor Helo were aboard the Galactica. When she heard radio chatter from Boomer while she was flying CAP, she made a point of passing off to the next shift as quickly as possible.   
  
Boomer was still with Chief Tyrol, going over the damage to her Raptor, when Kara landed and signed off her post-flight checklist. She hurried over, eager to see Helo again.  
  
As she reached the front of the Raptor, she shouted out, “Hey, Helo! What’d you break your Raptor for?” Instead of an answering hail from him, she got a weepy look from Boomer. Chief Tyrol took the checklist and walked off, leaving them alone.  
  
“Boomer. Where’s Helo?” She was getting a bad feeling about this.  
  
“Starbuck! We were hit during the initial fight with the Cylons, and we had to make an emergency landing back on Caprica.”  
  
“OK. That explains why it took you so long to get back to Galactica. Where’s Helo?” She was getting impatient, and Boomer was being weirdly evasive.  
  
“Well, as we were finishing repairs, we were overtaken by a group of survivors, and we loaded up the Raptor with the kids from the group. We couldn’t leave them behind.”  
  
“OK. I get it. Rescued kids. Probably would have done that myself, if I were stuck flying a bus. What about Helo?”  
  
“When all the kids were loaded, we had space for three more people, so we held a lottery and loaded them on. As we were getting ready to leave, Helo noticed someone in the crowd, and...” She looked away.  
  
“Boomer. Where. Is. Helo?” Her voice had taken on that deadly quiet that warned any sane person to get out of Starbuck’s striking range.  
  
Boomer backed away unsuccessfully, as Kara kept pace with her. “Helo gave up his spot for Dr. Baltar. Apparently, he’s some sort of genius, and Helo figured Dr. Baltar would do the Fleet more good than he could.”  
  
Kara lost it and shouted, “You left my boyfriend behind on Caprica? What the frak were you thinking?”  
  
“Starbuck. Kara! I’m sorry. He made me leave him behind. He said to tell you he loved you and he’d be back as soon as somebody brings the Raptor back for him.”  
  
“You left my boyfriend behind on Caprica. Gods!  Get away from me.” She turned toward Chief Tyrol and demanded, “Have you got a Raptor that’s ready to fly?” She started to walk toward the stairs and raised her voice. “I’ll have to talk to the Old Man, but I want something ready to go when I get back here.”

Kara was doomed to disappointment. The Old Man refused her request. The Cylons attacked and kept coming. There were days where she barely had time to go to the bathroom, much less think about Helo. Time went by, and even her friendship with Lee wasn’t enough to make up for missing Helo so much.  
  
Weeks later, weeks that seemed like years to Kara, the President approached her with a proposition. “I understand you’ve been requesting to return to Caprica to rescue a fellow pilot? The Commander’s mentioned it quite a few times.”  
  
“Yes, Sir. Helo was stranded when his Raptor took fire during the initial firefight.”  
  
The break in Kara’s voice on the pilot's callsign did not escape Laura Roslin’s notice. This was more personal than just rescuing a fellow pilot. “Then perhaps you’d like to meet me in the Commander’s quarters in an hour? I’ve got a mission to discuss with you.” The President tilted her head slightly, awaiting Kara’s reply.  
  
Kara’s face lit up and she gave the President an enthusiastic salute and a “Yes, Sir! I’ll be there, Sir!”  
  
She listened intently during the briefing, but all it really meant to her was that she could go back and get Helo. There was a Raptor prepped for her mission, and she was to leave immediately.  
  
She managed to land in Delphi without incident, and retrieved the Arrow of Apollo, which was her purported reason for making the trip, though not without a very intense fight with a blonde Cylon who’s willowy beauty belied her strength and fighting skill. She won the fight by pushing the Cylon over the edge of a broken floor, the momentum carrying her down, too.   
  
When she heard Helo’s voice, she thought she might be hallucinating, everything hurt so much. Then he really was there, and despite the pain, she couldn’t keep from hurling herself at him. “Gods, I’ve missed you! Don’t you ever do that to me again, Karl Agathon! I don’t care how smart you think that bastard is, you leave him and get on the damn Raptor. Do you understand me?”  
  
Karl just nodded and wrapped his arms around her and answered, “Yes, Sir. Never again, Sir.”  
  
They stood holding each other tightly for a few more minutes, then Karl said, “Kara, let’s get the frak off this planet and go home.”


End file.
